Essay on “Radical King” book by Cornell West for 1301 History

Write a 750 word essay (double-spaced chicago style) over the Radical King book by Cornell West that explores how Dr. King was also considered a radical during the 50s and 60s. Using the book, find quotes and the first thing you need to pay attention to is West’s introduction: in it he makes the assertion that even though we see King today as this benevolent leader, in many ways this is a white-washing of him and of his history because King during his lifetime was seen as a very radical individual. As you can see, the book is broken down in four sections and while many of the speeches discuss what we consider to be King’s hallmarks in the Civil Rights Movement, you should notice that many of the other speeches discuss things that we might not typically associate King with- such as the Vietnam War, and King’s own battle against economic inequality in the United States, and his view that colonialism (especially in Africa) needed to end immediately. Keeping in mind the context of the era (i.e. very afraid of Communism), think about how King’s political views might have been perceived- especially by Americans who did not want change. Was King ok with the status quo or did he want deep societal transformations? Basically, be using his speeches to flesh out whether you agree with this idea of radicalism that West puts forward or whether the version of Dr King that is taught today is more of what he would want to be remembered for. Here is the link to the Radical King book by Cornell West. Use the book to answer the questions attached: https://books.google.com/books?id=aI7HrQEACAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false